‘Back to School’ Posts

Feel free to hit up the bookstore for inspiration. Image courtesy of Flickr user Lucius Beebe Memorial Library. Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.If you’re in the process of moving back to campus and find yourself unemployed, it can be disheartening. Particularly if your friends wrapped up their employment situation months ago, it can seem as ...

Dollar stores aren’t just good for dolphin figurines–they’re great places for school supplies. Image courtesy of Flickr user Dagny Scott. Licensed under CC BY 2.0.The New York Times recently published an article about the rise of dollar stores as major companies. Though the article is somewhat depressing (the reason that they’re succeeding is because the ...

Unload your boxes and get reading! Photo by Trinity University. It’s that time again! Amazon is raking in cash from textbook sales, sobbing parents are dragging boxes through dorm hallways, and the smell of hormones and keg beer fills the air. Yes, it’s time to go back to school, and HackCollege has you covered. Be on ...

I bet they used GroupMe. Image courtesy of Flickr user Adam Sacco. Licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.If you’re going to be living with a new group of people this fall, you probably already know that organizing an apartment can be pretty stressful. You’ve got to figure out who’s contributing what to the place, who already ...

You’ll need more than catnaps to function during the school year. Image courtesy of Flickr user bundu. Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0I love sleep more than just about anything. So, during the last school year, I slept as late as I could–8:30, on the weekdays. However, I started to notice something funny: on the days ...

You can get your volunteer tshirt before anyone else. Score! Image courtesy of Abhishek Kumar. Licensed under CC BY-2.0.It’s tempting to spend the last few weeks of summer either sprawled out on the couch or focusing entirely on your internship/study abroad/summer school/job. However, if you’ve begun to plan for the upcoming semester (and, given that ...

an class="full-image-float-right ssNonEditable">Dorm sleep is the best sleep. Image courtesy of Flickr user spentYouth. Licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.School's back in session, and if you're anything like most people, your sleep schedule is out of whack from a winter break spent with family and friends. However, getting back in the sleepy swing of things will help you readjust to school, quit feeling tired, and get more work done--it's a worthwhile thing to invest in.

The best way to begin a sleep cycle reset is by setting a schedule: have a consistent time you try to go to bed and try to wake up. If your earliest class is at 2:30 in the afternoon, you don't actually have to sleep that late. (It's true!) If you get up earlier, you can do more early-morning homework and have your afternoons and evenings free for things you actually like. Think of it this way: in the evenings, you're choosing between homework and friends. In the morning, you're choosing between homework and more sleep than you need.

As this article points out, the consensus is still that most adults need 7.5-9 hours of sleep a night. When in doubt, go with less: even adjusting your sleep schedule by a half hour can make you feel much more energetic than you would otherwise. The key is not to go to bed at 3 and crawl out of it at 7 in the morning--try for bed at midnight and waking up at 8:30.

As you're readjusting to classes, you're going to want to take naps because you're tired. Don't. Long naps will keep you up when you are actually trying to sleep, and that just messes up your sleep schedule even more than you already have. If you're so tired that you need to go to bed at 10 for the first few weeks of school, that's fine--it's much better than passing out at 5 and only getting three hours of sleep. If you're still having trouble falling asleep, try an exercise routine in the morning. A study showed that women who exercised for as little as 30 minutes in the morning had an easier time falling asleep than those who did not.

an class="full-image-block ssNonEditable">Good communication will help you get what you need at school. Image courtesy of Flickr user Joss Fassbind. Licensed under CC 2.0 by-nc-nd.It’s nearly move-in week, and for most students, that means that they’re about to have to get to know a whole new slew of teachers, maintenance and custodial staff, IT people, and residence hall coordinators. These people are united by a common theme: they work for your school, and--at some point during your years there--you will need something only they can provide you. That’s where people skills come in.

Wow, summer seems to go by faster every year. Most of you should probably be in the midst of packing your things and getting back on a semi-healthy sleep schedule, because back to school season is here again! For the third year in a row we’re working with Lifehacker to share our back to school ...

an class="full-image-float-right ssNonEditable">College clubs need two things: people and pizza. Image courtesy of Flickr user Silveria Neto. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.College clubs are like butterflies: beautiful to behold and terribly, terribly fragile. Because of the high turnover rate of club leaders and the fickleness of college students, clubs can be quick to die. There are, however, some things that you can do to make sure your club survives the summer season and flourishes in the coming school year.

Make sure people know who runs what: This may seem like a no-brainer, but it’s possible that in the rush to head back home for the summer, club members may have forgotten who exactly is the president or the PR chair. If you’re an old club executive, make sure this is squared away. If you’re newly elected, make sure your school and your student government knows who you are and how to get in touch with you. This way they’ll let you know about those all-important club registration meetings with the Very Important Paperwork. As an added bonus, knowing who’s responsible for what will make it much easier to assign tasks to club leaders once the school year starts.

div id="_mcePaste">Red Solo Cup worship begins at Orientation. Image courtesy of Flickr user Michaelcardus and licensed under CC by SA 2.0Congratulations. You've finished your senior year and have just walked across the stage to receive your diploma. Four years of hard work (okay, hard work might be just an overstatement) have culminated in this day and your life in high school is officially over.

So, now what?

College. But first, there's Orientation.

It's kind of like college, but...not. You're there on your campus for a day or two, you might get to experience the dorms and residence halls, you might hear from some speakers from organizations and advisors from your college and you'll probably be registering your classes from the fall. Sounds like fun, right? Only if you make it fun. Here are some tips to not only survive your orientation, but to make it a kickass start to your college career.

Whether it’s your first year in college or your eighth, coming back to school is always an odd experience. You’ve got new classes, new neighbors, maybe new roommates, and lots of time around new people. Meeting new people and making new friends can be really awkward – walking up to someone with your arms outstretched, ...